IBM's Arvind Krishna Sees Friendlier Regulator for AI Deals Amid Middle East Uncertainty

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna expects more AI deals due to a "friendlier" regulatory climate, having recently completed the acquisition of Confluent Inc. He anticipates pursuing mergers in AI, hybrid cloud, and their intersection. Krishna also noted that the war in the Middle East may be a slight headwind, affecting around 20% of IBM's employees in the region. He is optimistic about the consulting part of IBM's business accelerating in the second half of the year.